WhatsApp on Android is finally getting this iOS feature

WhatsApp on iOS always seems to get the cool features before the Android version does. We’ve recently seen the introduction of the Picture in Picture feature, which iPhone users have had for a while. Now we’re seeing another iOS WhatsApp feature coming to Android too.

Swipe to reply feature coming to Android WhatsApp soon

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WhatsApp conversations are long. They never end as long you keep sending messages to each other. This means that they can become messy and cumbersome beasts. Group chats are even worse. If you don’t answer a particular question immediately, it can get lost in the mess and your response may seem out of place.

This is why replying is such a handy feature. When you reply to a WhatsApp message a miniature version of it appears (like an image would) and you can respond in an attached text box. There is no room for confusion when you hit reply.

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iOS users have had it easy for a while now, but not so for those on Android. Until now, Android users have had to hold down their finger on the message they want to reply to and then hit reply in the menu that appears at the top of the page. It isn’t exactly scaling Everest, but in today’s world were attention is measured in micro-seconds those fiddly movements can feel like a drag. Step forward, Swipe to Reply.

The new swipe to reply feature does exactly what it says. All you have to do when you want to reply to a WhatsApp message is swipe your finger across it. This will automatically create the reply box at the bottom of the conversation, ready for your response.

This new feature was spotted by Android Police in the latest beta version of WhatsApp. This means that it still isn’t ready for a wider roll-out to everybody but it’s at a very late stage of the development process. With the Picture in Picture feature also making it to beta testing, we can probably expect to see them bundled into a single update sometime soon. As is always the case with beta features, however, we can’t guarantee that they will end up in the full version of the app. We’ll have to wait and see.